There was a thread on the /r/ruby subreddit where @headius lamented about how C extensions have hindered JIT and eventual plans to remove the GIL. @tenderlove chimed in with tentative plans to eventually move away from C extensions. If we could somehow rid ourselves of C extensions, this would make it easier for multiple Ruby versions to share the same GEM_HOME (ex: RVM/rbenv/chruby). You shouldn't have to delete/re-install all of your gems after upgrading ruby 3.1.5 -> 3.1.6.